OAKLAND — A 47-year-old Richmond man accused of sexually assaulting two 16-year-old girls and recording video of one of the attacks pleaded guilty in federal court to production of child pornography, the U.S. Justice Department said.
Ranbir Singh, who entered his plea Wednesday, will be sentenced Dec. 8 in federal court and could face a maximum prison term of 30 years and a fine of $250,000, officials said. He remains in custody pending sentencing.
In his plea arrangement, Singh admitted that in March 2013 he had had sexual intercourse in an Alameda County hotel room with a girl he knew to be 16 at the time, setting up a video camera in the room before the intercourse began and persuading the girl to engage in sexual intercourse for the purpose of recording it.
Singh further admitted that in May 2013 he traveled with a 17-year-old girl to a casino hotel in Placer County, knowing she was a minor. He admitted having sexual intercourse with the girl in a hotel room at the casino after showing her the video of him having sex with the other girl, the release said.
According to court records, the girls came forward to authorities later in 2013 and accused Singh of raping them but no charges were filed at the time after investigators found inconsistencies in the girls’ statements; eventually one of the girls wanted to recant. Singh had used a different name to communicate with the girls over Facebook, but authorities were able to confirm his actual identity through a passport photo.
According to prior reporting from this news organization, Singh was arrested last November on suspicion of battering his wife, but the investigation changed after she told authorities she had the videos of Singh sexually abusing the 16-year-old and that she recognized the girl “from a high school identification card she had previously seen on Singh’s nightstand,” the original complaint said.
Police located several videos later determined to be from the May 2013 assault that show Singh raping a girl who protested and said she was in pain. The second victim later said her recantation of her statement about being sexually assaulted was false, and that she only did so because she was scared of Singh’s wife.
The initial federal charges were filed against Singh in a complaint filed March 1 of this year. He was arrested March 16 in Sacramento County and was indicted on March 23.
The cases were investigated by Richmond police and the Department of Homeland Security.
Contact George Kelly at 408-859-5180.